Pixar’s new animated feature Hoppers, directed by CalArts alum Daniel Chong (Film/Video 04), topped the box office this past weekend, earning an estimated $46 million domestically and $88 million worldwide in its debut. The film’s opening marks the biggest launch for an original animated film since Pixar’s Coco in 2017.
Hoppers, which has also seen strong critical and audience scores, including a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, tells the story of animal-lover Mabel, who seizes an opportunity to use a new technology to “hop” her consciousness into a lifelike robotic beaver and communicate directly with animals. As she uncovers mysteries in the animal world beyond anything she could have imagined, Mabel must rally the entire animal kingdom to face an imminent human threat.
In addition to Chong, the BAFTA and Annie Award-winning We Bare Bears creator, the Hoppers team includes more than a dozen CalArts alumni, including executive producers Pete Docter (Film/Video BFA 90) and Pete Sohn (Film/Video BFA 99).
Additional CalArtians who helped bring this blockbuster to life includes:
Director, Story
Daniel Chong
Executive Producers
Pete Docter
Pete Sohn
Story Supervisors
Madeline Sharafian (Film/Video BFA 15)
John Cody Kim (Film/Video BFA 15)
Story Artists
Wesley Fuh (Film/Video BFA 18)
Tessa Abrams (Film/Video BFA 23)
Additional Story Artist
Lorenzo Fresta (Film/Video BFA 20)
Set Designer
Valerie Kao (Film/Video BFA 19)
Character Art Director and Lead Drawover Artist
Anna Scott (Film/Video 22)
Animator
Bobby Podesta (Film/Video BFA 97)
Additional Animator
Eric David Anderson (Film/Video BFA 11)
Character Development & Animation
Shawn Krause (Film/Video 94)
Voice Actor
Tom Law (Film/Video BFA 13)
Art Interns
Jonathan Chen (Film/Video BFA 22)
Jennifer Nie (Film/Video BFA 23)
